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Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, who resigned Friday, played his last ceremonial role as a politician Thursday, presiding over a Family Land Heritage event in the House chamber.

The new top lobbyist for the Texas oil and gas industry, just-resigned state Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, says local referendums such as Denton’s ban on hydraulic fracturing this week are not the answer.

“That’s not the way to craft public policy,” Staples said in an interview Thursday, his fourth day on the job as president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association. The association has sued to block the ordinance from taking effect in 30 days.

“Our thought is that the Railroad Commission has the authority to govern oil and gas activities,” Staples said. He said the commission, whose Chairwoman Christi Craddick said Thursday should keep giving permits to companies that seek to drill in Denton, must balance local community concerns with the need for uniform policies, “where we can grow and have capital attracted to Texas.”

Staples, who resigned as agriculture commissioner on Friday, said he would register as a legislative lobbyist next year but play a mostly behind-the-scenes role as a strategist for the trade group’s existing lobbyists.

“I’ll obviously help coordinate those activities,” he said. Staples ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in this year’s GOP primary.

So who’s minding the store at the Texas Department of Agriculture? The answer is Drew DeBerry, Staples’ long-time deputy.

While Republican former state Rep. Sid Miller has been elected to the post, state law puts the deputy agriculture commissioner in charge if the commissioner has “a necessary and unavoidable absence” or an “inability to act.”

Miller will be sworn in a few minutes after midnight on Dec. 31, said Todd M. Smith, his campaign consultant. At a second event later on New Year’s Day, Miller will have a purely ceremonial oath-taking, Smith said.

Administering the oath will be Gov. Rick Perry, a former agriculture commissioner, he said.

“Either Tommy Merritt is not telling the truth about being endorsed by Ralph Hall or Congressman Hall did endorse Merritt and Hall’s campaign team is now doing everything they can to distance themselves from that endorsement because they understand that it will hurt Congressman Hall to be publicly associated with Tommy Merritt and his liberal record,” Smith said in an email.

“No matter which version is true, both are extremely problematic for Tommy Merritt.”

Update at 3:14 p.m.: Former state Rep. Tommy Merritt said Saturday that U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall did endorse his bid to become agriculture commissioner.

“We’re long-time friends and I stand by what we put on Facebook,” Merritt said in an interview. “I’m honored to have Ralph Hall’s endorsement.”

Merritt said suggestions by the camp of GOP opponent Sid Miller that Hall didn’t endorse Merritt are false.

“I don’t know where that’s coming from,” he said.

A Hall spokesman did not immediately respond to a phone message.

Original item at 8:17 a.m.: Agriculture commissioner hopeful Sid Miller has accused opponent Tommy Merritt of claiming that veteran East Texas Congressman Ralph Hall has endorsed him in their fierce GOP runoff contest when he hasn’t.

Smith said Dallas consultant Ed Valentine, the Hall adviser, told him “they were seeking out Mr. Merritt to demand that he remove the offending post immediately.”

On Monday, Merritt posted on his Facebook account a photograph of Hall with the comment that “his endorsement is a true honor.” The photograph apparently was taken at a weekend celebration in Dallas of Hall’s 91st birthday, which was Saturday.

Tom Fox/Staff photographer

Republican agriculture commissioner candidate Sid Miller

Valentine could not be reached for comment. Merritt spokesman Mark Sanders, asked about the veracity of the Facebook post, declined to comment. You can view the Facebook post below.

Smith, the Miller consultant, said Valentine told him Hall “is focused on his own race.”

Hall, now in his 17th term, is locked in a May 27 Republican runoff with former federal prosecutor John Ratcliffe.

Hall has endorsed one fellow Texas Republican who’s in a runoff — state Sen. Bob Deuell of Greenville. Deuell faces retired businessman Bob Hall of Edgewood, southeast of Dallas. He and Ralph Hall are not related.

It’s unlikely Ralph Hall’s advisers want him involved in other intra-party feuds, such as Miller and Merritt’s clash for the coveted Republican nomination to be the next agriculture commissioner.

Current Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples did not seek re-election and ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor. That set off a five-way GOP scramble. In initial voting, Miller, a nurseryman and rancher from Stephenville, finished ahead of Merritt, a Longview businessman. But neither drew the needed majority of votes. And they are trading blows as the runoff approaches.

The winner of Miller and Merritt’s runoff will face the Democratic victor on May 27, either singer-author Kinky Friedman or Jim Hogan of Cleburne.

UPDATE at 10:25 p.m.: Both Republican and Democratic primaries for agriculture commissioner appear likely to head to a runoff.

Former state representatives Sid Miller and Tommy Merritt lead on the Republican side. Jim Hogan of Cleburne and Kinky Friedman lead in the Democratic race.

Left out in the rain is Democrat Hugh Fitzsimons, as well as Republican candidates J Allen Carnes, Joe Cotten and Eric Opiela.

Barring a major turnaround, the Opiela campaign faces, perhaps, the biggest let down. The Karnes City rancher and attorney campaigned longer than all others and sank more than $1 million of his money into the down-ballot race.

UPDATE at 8:50 p.m.: Unknown Jim Hogan is edging out Kinky Friedman for the lead on the Democratic side. Hogan has about 41 percent of the vote to Friedman’s 38 percent.

ORIGINAL ITEM: Competitive Republican and Democratic primary races for agriculture commissioner will likely lead to runoffs on both sides.

Texas’ agriculture commissioner oversees the state’s second largest economic sector and school breakfast and lunch programs, among other matters. The position has served as springboard to higher office in the past for Gov. Rick Perry and Comptroller Susan Combs.

Current commissioner Todd Staples is leaving the seat open and running for lieutenant governor.

We will be updating this blog to bring you the results of the primary election as they become available.

The five Republican candidates include Eric Opiela of Karnes City, Sid Miller of Stephenville, J Allen Carnes of Uvalde, Tommy Merritt of Kilgore and Joe Cotten of Dallas.

The Democratic side has Kinky Friedman of Medina, Hugh Fitzsimons of San Antonio and Jim Hogan of Cleburne.

Most Republican candidates campaigned on improving water resources, fighting federal government intrusion and illegal immigration and their own conservative credentials.

Opiela, an attorney and rancher, ran the highest funded campaign. He invested more than $1 million of his own money and was the only hopeful to run statewide television ads.

The Republican field attacked Carnes’ record of voting in some Democratic primaries in his home district. Carnes said he voted for Democrats in important local races lacking Republican candidates.

Former Longview representative, rancher and businessman Tommy Merritt campaigned to streamline the agriculture department and fight illegal immigration, among other things.

Former Stephenville representative Miller has the backing of some tea-party and conservative groups. He came under attack for profiting off a loan he made to his own campaign, with interest, and not disclosing on state campaign finance reports a transfer of stocks from the campaign to his personal brokerage account. The Texas Ethics Commission said it is investigating the loan. Miller has denied any wrongdoing.

Fitzsimons’ platform centers on improving the state’s water and food supplies, among other things. Though a relative unknown, Fitzsimons raised the most cash of any Democrat.

Friedman ran an unconventional campaign focused on legalization of marijuana. He toured the state playing music and speading his message, but didn’t raise much money in the process. Friedman is, perhaps, the best known candidate on the entire Democratic ticket. He lost a gubernatorial bid in 2006 and he lost in the Democratic primary for ag commissioner in 2010.

Eric Opiela, Republican candidate for agriculture commissioner, hopes TV ads will help boost his profile in the primary.

Republican Eric Opiela, candidate for agriculture commissioner, spent $1.1 million on his campaign in the past month. That’s roughly triple the total spent by his four primary challengers combined, state reports show.

The Karnes City rancher, attorney and Republican operative has dropped over $1 million of his own money into the race. The biggest chunk of Opiela’s spending has gone toward statewide TV spots. He’s the only candidate in the race to make such a buy.

Hampton Williams, spokesman for Opiela, said there’s a large “under vote” in the agriculture commissioner race, meaning many Texans vote for the governor or lieutenant governor but fail to vote on lesser-known positions such as ag commissioner.

The goal is to “raise our candidates profile in the race,” Hampton said. “This is a five person race and you’ve got to do something to stand out. We were blessed with the resources to help us stand out.”

It’s not yet clear how Opiela’s big-spending strategy will pay off. No major polling on the race has been made public in the past month. Early voting is already under way and the primary is on March 4.

On the issues, the Republican candidates have taken similar lines. Several hopefuls have put water atop their list of priorities and spoken about improving food-assistance programs administered by the Department of Agriculture.

The candidates are also touting the importance, to varying degrees, of standard conservative agenda items such as private property rights, border security, fiscal restraint and combating federal overregulation.

Merritt, a farmer and businessman, spent nearly a quarter-million dollars on advertising.

Carnes spent over $100,000 in the January-February reporting period, more than $80,000 of that went toward advertising, according to financial disclosures. Nolan Ryan recently endorsed Carnes and assisted the campaign with a radio ad.

Miller, a nurseryman, spent about $38,000 in the reporting period, much of it allotted to advertising, according to financial reports.

Cotten spent about $3,000 on his campaign website but little else. He didn’t note any contributions in February.

Kinky Friedman of Medina, Hugh Fitzsimons of San Antonio and Jim Hogan of Cleburne are running on the Democratic ticket.

Republican Eric Opiela rides the tractor, walks the cow pasture and talks tough on immigration in the first statewide TV ad in the race for Texas agriculture commissioner.

Opiela, an attorney and rancher out of Karnes City, touches on reforming the school lunch program and property rights in the 30-second spot. Then the Republican Party lawyer drops the hammer regarding immigration.

“Those who came here illegally need to go to the back of the line. No amnesty, under any circumstances,” Opiela says in the ad, while propping his arm on a barbwire fence post.

J Allen Carnes, Republican candidate for agriculture commissioner, thinks he hit a home run with an endorsement from baseball great Nolan Ryan.

Ryan should be taking the endorsement beyond a simple verbal affirmation by “making the pitch” for Carnes around Texas, according to a Carnes statement.

Cathy Conley, spokeswoman for Carnes, said Ryan was committed to doing media for the Uvalde mayor and farmer but exact plans haven’t been firmed up yet.

The baseball legend’s nod to Carnes may be the most high-profile endorsement yet in the down-ballot agriculture race that few everyday Texans watch closely.

“Nolan is someone I have always admired as a family man, a rancher, businessman and, of course, a Hall of Famer,” Carnes said in a statement. “I look forward to working with him in growing Texas agriculture for future generations.”

Ryan has dabbled in Texas politics for years and been on the cusp of running for agriculture commissioner himself. For a moment in late 2013, many speculated Ryan might enter the Republican field.

Ryan has served as chairman of outgoing agriculture commissioner Todd Staples’ campaign for lieutenant governor.

Ryan pitched for the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, including a record seven no-hitters. He recently moved from an executive position with the Rangers, where he was credited with helping revive the team, to a front-office position with the Astros. He has been involved in agriculture and has his own line of beef products.

Other hopefuls in the Republican primary include Eric Opiela of Karnes City, Sid Miller of Stephenville, Joe Cotten of Dallas and Tommy Merritt of Longview.

Running on the Democratic side are Kinky Freidman of Medina, Hugh Fitzsimons of San Antonio and Jim Hogan of Cleburne.

The biggest donors oftentimes in the agriculture and railroad commission campaigns are the candidates themselves, via loans and contributions, recent reports show.

Several financial frontrunners in the Republican primaries have war chests loaded with personal and benefactor loans valued up to $1 million.

It’s not unusual for candidates in Texas, particularly wealthy ones in costly statewide races, to dip into their own pockets to boost their campaign activities.

Karnes City rancher and attorney Eric Opiela leads the Republican agriculture primary with about $1.1 million in his campaign fund, most of it coming from his own pockets. Since January of 2013, Opiela has dropped roughly $1.4 million into the campaign, according to state records.

“In this case you’ve got a candidate that really believes in himself and believes in his message,” said Hampton Williams, spokesman for Opiela. The campaign also boasts the largest list of small donors.

In the Republican primary for railroad commissioner, a post that oversees oil and gas production, former Center House member Wayne Christian’s campaign received a $1 million loan from its treasurer, David Chadwick. Christian currently has the largest amount of cash on hand.

Republican challenger Ryan Sitton, an industry engineer and business owner from the Houston area, made a $1 million loan to his campaign through Texan Bank in December. The loan is no longer listed as outstanding, according to Sitton’s latest campaign finance report.

Several other candidates have given smaller amounts to their campaigns.

In the ag race, former Longview House member Tommy Merritt has lent his campaign $500,000. In an interview, Merritt said the money shows his commitment to the campaign, among other things.

Sid Miller, a farmer and former Stephenville representative, made more than $30,000 in loans to his campaign. A fellow Stephenville nurseryman, Brad Allen, made a $100,000 loan to Miller as well, according to financial reports.

J Allen Carnes, farmer and mayor of Uvalde, made a $50,000 loan to his campaign in addition to another $17,000 loan from Hal Hensley, his political director.

Joe Cotten, also in the Republican primary, is running a lightly funded, but completely self-financed, campaign.

Kinky Friedman, Hugh Fitzsimons and Jim Hogan are running in the Democratic primary for agriculture commissioner.

Also in the race for railroad commissioner are Republican Becky Berger and Democrats Steve Brown and Dale Henry.

Also in the Republican primary for railroad commissioner is Malachi Boyuls, an oil and gas business owner of Dallas, who hasn’t made substantial loans or contributions to his own campaign but has taken in more than $800,000.

Sid Miller, candidate for agriculture commissioner, faces opposition scrutiny regarding stock purchases he made with campaign funds and later transferred to his personal account as repayment.

UPDATE: A copy of the stock analysis has been embedded at the end of the article.

UPDATE: Todd Smith, spokesman and strategist for Sid Miller, provided a statement in response to the below article and the Carnes campaign’s analysis of Miller’s financials.

“It appears that J Allen Carnes has now teamed up with liberal personal injury trial lawyer Steve Mostyn and his hatchet man, former State Republican Executive Committee Member turned liberal, Mark McCaig, who was the first to make this outrageous attack against Mr. Miller. It now appears that J Carnes is teaming up with Mostyn and McCaig…” Smith said in a statement.

McCaig filed a multipart ethics complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission against Miller regarding his personal loan to the campaign with interest, among other matters, in late 2013. The commission said it is investigating the loan.

McCaig responded to Smith’s charge, saying he has a long history voting, donating and giving time to conservative candidates and causes including the Harris County Republican Party and Wendy Davis’ Republican opponent last election.

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Miller and his lobbyist business partner Todd Smith would rather make false and baseless attacks against me instead of being open and honest with Texas voters about Sid’s financial dealings,” McCaig said.

ORIGINAL ITEM:

A report compiled by opposition to agriculture commissioner hopeful Sid Miller has turned the flood lights on a series of stock purchases and transfers made with Miller’s campaign funds but not fully recorded in state financial disclosures.

Hal Hensley, Uvalde Mayor J Carnes’ political director, authored the analysis that highlights several potential discrepancies in Miller’s reports including stock purchases that don’t square with historical data and pssible values of unrecorded dividend payments, among other things.

Todd Smith, spokesman and strategist for Miller, said he wouldn’t comment on, or lend any credibility, to a “campaign attack effort that is coming from the Carnes campaign.”

The former Stephenville representative previously said he transferred the bundle of stocks to his personal account to settle debts after losing his House seat, including debt from a $10,000 loan he had made to his campaign with 10 percent interest. Miller said the transactions were legal and conformed to Texas Ethics Commission rules. The financial reports did not have a space for him to note the transfers, he added.

The commission is currently investigating the $10,000 loan.

Hensley wants hard proof of the stock purchases and transfers.

Answering questions surrounding the stocks and “being forthcoming with the documentation supporting the answers will go a long way in satisfying the mystery surrounding these missing assets,” Hensley said in the report.

“Failing to do so will, in our opinion, leave little doubt something is terribly wrong in how assets were handled by Mr. Miller and his campaign.”

In the report, Hensley calls on Miller to show proof of the stock transfers, and reporting to the Internal Revenue Service, campaign balance statements and E-Trade Financial statements, among other things. Miller used E-Trade to make the stock purchases, according to state records.

Also running for the Republican nomination are Eric Opiela of Karnes City, Tommy Merritt of Longview and Joe Cotten.

Kinky Friedman, Asa Fitzsimons and Jim Hogan are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Kinky Friedman, running for agriculture commissioner, appointed a new campaign director after a Morning News report on an internal campaign email discussing a plot to lure out a primary opponent.

One mischievous email later and the Kinky Friedman campaign has a new director.

Political consultant Rania Batrice, who previously worked with Friedman in his bid for agriculture commissioner, will helm the campaign.

A Morning News report on an internal Friedman campaign email played a role in the shake up. In the correspondence, the campaign plotted using an introduction to country music legend Willie Nelson as bait to lure Democratic primary challenger Jim Hogan out of the race.

The plan never came to fruition and Cleve Hattersley, the campaign’s spokesman who was quoted discussing the botched maneuver, called the idea a mistake and a poor reflection of the campaign.

Nelson and Friedman, who doesn’t own a computer or have email, were not privy to the scheme, Friedman said.

Batrice previously worked as communications director for the successful campaign of U.S Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.

“I am so happy to be back home in Texas and excited to be working with a leader who isn’t afraid to take on an issue that is bigger than himself and will benefit every tax-paying citizen in our state,” Batrice said in a statement.

Friedman, a musician and writer, has made marijuana legalization his main issue in the race. This will be his third bid for statewide office, he ran for governor as an Independent in 2006 and for agriculture commissioner as a Democrat in 2010.

In addition to Hogan, Hugh Fitzsimons is running in the Democratic primary. Fitzsimons posted the largest campaign fund of the three Democrats. Five Republicans seek their party’s nomination. Early primary voting begins Feb. 18, and the primary election is March 4.

The campaign for challenger J Allen Carnes, mayor of Uvalde, is dusting off the sleeve garter and green visor to inspect Miller’s financial filings, following a Morning News report on Miller’s use of campaign funds to buy stocks he later transferred to his own account as repayment.

“Our campaign is conducting a full audit of all Mr. Miller’s filings,” said Hal Hensley, a Carnes consultant.

Miller bought nearly $100,000 in stocks with donated money, which is allowed in Texas. He later transferred much of the portfolio to his own account to pay off personal loans and out-of-pocket expenses he incurred over a decade as a Stephenville representative.

The Texas Ethics Commission is investigating one of those loans made in the amount of $10,000 with 10 percent interest. Miller ultimately netted over $21,000 in profit on that loan.

Miller strongly denied any wrongdoing and said he did not break a cardinal rule of campaign finance law: no campaign funds may be converted to personal use. The transfer was prudent, he said, because it avoided unnecessary taxes and fees he would have paid if he sold the stocks.

The Carnes campaign is skeptical.

The whole matter could be cleared up if Miller makes public his “bank account statements, brokerage statements and IRS filings for the years in question 2008 through 2013,” the campaign said in a statement.

Four years of financial statements is a tall order for most any American. Miller has a hand in multiple business interest; he’s a nurseryman and farmer and sells horses as well. Most Texas candidates keep such statements private and release little beyond the mandatory personal financial disclosures that show the general value of financial holdings and other itemized reports of campaign donations and expenditures.

Todd Smith, a consultant and spokesman for Miller, said he had not seen the Carnes campaign’s news release.

“Carnes ought to focus on his own campaign and stop his preoccupation with Mr. Miller’s campaign finances.”